Outdoor jacket



J;n.4, 1949.. R KERR Y 2,458,004

OUTDOOR JACKET .Filed octfs, 1946- 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 AIME/Oral? for" WEEK ATTORNEYS Jan. 4, R. H. KERR I OUTDOOR JACKET Filed M 5. 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 4, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Roy Kerr, Stillwater, Minn, assign'or to st. one: Garment Company, Stillwater, Minn., a

partnership Application October 5, 1946, Serial No. 701,555

1 4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in outdoor jackets, and more particularly to such a jacket which readily lends itself for sportswear. i Y

Outdoor jackets as now commonly constructed usually have a tendency to pull or creep up on the wearer's bod when the wearer elevates or raises his arms as when engaged in such sports as golfing, hunting, fishing, and archerywhich require frequent manipulation of the arms and shoulders. This is particularly true when the garment properly fits -the wearers body and is buttoned up i or closed at theiront in the usual manner. Such creeping up of the body portion of the jacket upon the wearers body may be extremely unpleasant, attimes, and in some cases, may even interfere with the players performanceof his chosen sport. It is, therefore, highly desirable that some means be embodied in the construction of such a jacket whereby the body portion theme: cannot creeper pull upwardly upon a wearers body, when the arms are periodically raised in the performance of a given sport or task. I

'An object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a jacket which m y be properly termed a pull-proof jacket, which is so constructed that there is eastward creeping or ulling or the body of the jacket upon the earers body, regardless of arm movements, "and whereby the wearer ma aeuymove his arms and any desired positions without exerting any pulling strains in the fabric constituting the body and sleeves of the jacket. y 4

A further object is to provide a pull-proof sports jacket particularly adaptedfor outdoor wear as,

for example, when golfing, hunting, fishing, and

various other sports, which may require more or less continual moving of the arms in the opera tion of performing such sports.

A further and more specific object is to provide a garment composed of two major parts, namely, a body part, and a sleeve and shoulder part, which parts are preferably in'separably secured togather at the neck of the garment only, whereby the arms of the wearer may be freely moved to any desired elevation without exerting any pulling action whatsoever on the main body portioncf the garment. r v

A further object is to provide a jacket of the class described comprising a body part adapted to fit the wearers torso and havingi'nans prefer ably located at the front thereof for closing the garment about the wearer's been, and al o having suitable arm openings therein for receiving the arms, and said jacket alsoiricludifig' a sleeve part comprising a comparatively short shoulder cover ing portion having sleeves secured therein, and

th b a l v Pa ts 9 e. J e? b g r videdwith suitable neck openings adapted to be placed in registry with one another and having their marginal edge portions suitably stitched or secured together, whereby when the wearer lifts one or botharms to an elevated position, the shoulder and sleeve part of the garment or jacket may may fnoveupwardly with respect to the whereby an additional thickness of fabric is provided over the" wearer's shoulders, which may be highly desirable, particularly when the jacket is worn in wet or damp weather, as it provides added protection over the wearers back and shoulders.

other objects f the invention reside inthe simple and in'eikpehsiv construction of the jacket as a whole; in the unique method of Securing the sleeve part to the body part, whereby the arms of the wearer may be freely moved to any desired elevated position without exertin any undesirable pulling in the fabric of the body part of the jacket in the unique manner I of securing the spaced upright front edges of the sleeve part of the jacket to the front portion of the body part tlierof whereby the iacket may be worn as a conventional jacket; and in the unique manner of sceurihg the sleeve part of the jacket. to the body part around the neck of the garment only; where by the wearers arms may be freelym'ove'd to any position within the reach of the wearer without restraint; and also whereby the upper portion of the garment is freely ventilated, which maybe highly desirable, when the invention is embodied in such garments raincoats, which, as: nowcommonly constructed, may be extremely uncomfortable to the wearer, when worn on a warm rainy day, because of the usual lack of ventilation in the upper portion thereof as a result of the inherent non-porousness of the material from which most raincoat's are constructed.

Other objects of the invention will appearfr'om the following description and the accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in the annexed claims.

In the accompanying drawings there has been disclosed a structure designed to carry out the various objects of the invention, but it is to be understood that the invention is not confined to the exact features shown, as various changes may be made within the scope of the claims which follow.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front viewof the jacket showing it positioned upon the body of awearer with the arms in alowered position; 1 i H Figure 2 is a side View of the garment positioned on a wearer with one arm elevated;

Figure 3 is a back view of the garment showing both of the wearers arms in raised positions;

Figure 4 is a front view of the garment showing one of the front flaps or sidewall portions of the sleeve part detached from the body part of the garment;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the position of the front portion of the sleeve part of the garment when detached from the body part and the-arms are raised to elevated positions;

Figure 6 is a front view of the garment detached from the .wearers body and partially broken away at one side to, show one of the sleeve openings provided in the body part of the garment;

Figure '7 is a. view of the sleeve part only of the garment detached from the body part; and Figure 8 is a view of the body part only of the garment.

In the accompanying drawings, the invention is shown embodied in what may well be termed a sports jacket, comprising a body part, generally designated by the numeral 2, which may be made from two or more sections of fabric stitched together to provide a body covering part such as shown in Figure 8, which is open down the front, as indicatedat 3, and may be provided with a suitable zipper 4, as shown in Figure 6, for closing the front of the garment in theusual .man-

ner.

The length of the body part 2 of the garment is shown extending from the shoulders to a point preferably below the hips of the wearer, but it is to be understood that the body part maybe made to any desired length without departing from the scope of the invention.

Suitable sleeve openings 5 are provided in the upper portion of the body part 2, and the latter is also provided with a neck opening 6, to which a suitable collar I is attached. The collar 1 may be stitched to the marginal edge of the fabric defining the neck opening 6, as will be understood by reference to Figure 8. Suitable pockets 8 may also be provided in the body part 2,. as is customary in jackets of this general type.

The upper sleeve part of the garment is best shown in Figure 7, and is generally designated by the numeral 9. This part of the garment comprises a shoulder covering portion 1 I having suitable sleeves l2 stitched or secured thereto by such means as stitching f3 which is well known in the art.

The shoulder covering portion l I of the sleeve part 9 comprises a back section it and side and front sections l5 having upright marginal edges [6 provided with suitable fasteners ll, shown in Figure 4, adapted to interlock with similar fasteners H! by manipulation of a suitable slide I9, commonly known to the trade as a zipper.

An important feature of the present invention resides in the novel manner of securing the sleeve part 9 to the body part 2 to provide free movement of the wearers arms and also to provide free ventilation in the upper portion of the garment. To thus secure the sleeve part 9 to the body part, the sleeve part is fitted over the upper portion of the body part, as will be understood by reference to Figures 6, '7 and 8. The marginal edge 2| of the neck opening 22 of the sleeve part is then stitched to the upper portion of the body part 2, simultaneously as the collar I is secured to the twofparts.

To thus secure the sleeve part 9 to the body part 2 around the neck opening only of the garwhen raising the arms and shoulders, the body part will always retain its normal position on the body of the wearer, as illustrated in Figures 2, 3 and 5, particularly when the zippers ll--I8-l9 are in open position as shown in Figure 5. Also because of the lower edge of the body portion of the sleeve part 9 being detached from the body part 2, air may'freely circulate from within the body part 2; through the arm openings 5 and into and between the body part and body portion of the sleeve part 9, to the atmosphere, as indicated by the arrows in Figures 2, 3 and 5. The ventilation in the upper portion of the jacket may be controlled somewhat by manipulation of the fasteners 11-48-49, as will be understood.

' When the zippers. |'ll 8-49 are in closed position, as shown, for example, in Figure 1, and at one side in Figure 4, the front sections i5 of the sleeve part of the jacket will be retained in relatively fixed position with respect to the front portion of the body part of the jacket. Also when the front sections ll) of the sleeve part of the jacket are so secured to the body part 2, the jacket may be put on and taken off in the same manner as a conventional jacket, as the sleeve openings 5 in the body part will always be properly aligned with the sleeves of the sleeve part 9.

The novel jacket herein disclosed has been found very praotical for use in the performance of many kinds of sports where freedom of arm movement is an essential requirement, such as golfing, hunting, fishing, and numerous other sports. When the front sections l5 of the sleeve part 9 are detached from the body part .2 of the jacket, as shown in Figure 5, the arms may be freely raised to any desired elevation without restraint and without many way exerting an upward pull on the body part 2 of the garment. This results because of the sleeve and shoulder portion of the garment being completely detached from the body part 2 thereof, except around the neck, and because of the sleeve openings in the body part 2 being of ample size to permit free movement of the arms and shoulders.

The jacket is extremely simple in construction, as will be noted by reference to Figures 7 and 8. The body and sleeve parts 2 andQ, respectively, may be assembled completely independently of one another and thereafter stitched together around the neckopening of the garment in any suitable manner, whereby the two jacket parts are secured together only around the neck of the jacket.

In use, the jacket may be worn as shown in Figure 1, or it may be worn as shown in Figure 4 with only one of the front sections l5 of the sleeve part detached from the body part. If it is desired to freely move both arms as shown, for example, in Figures 3 and 5, both front sections l5 of the sleeve part are unfastened from the body part by proper manipulation of the zippers l'll8--|9 While I have herein shown the invention embodied in a sports type of jacket, it is to be understood the invention may be embodied in other types of outer garments as, for example, raincoats. The ventilation feature of the invention would be particularly desirable in raincoats, because such garments, in order to be water-proof, are usually constructed of a water-proof material such as rubber, and the like, which is non-porous, and therefore affords little or no ventilation in itself.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that I have accomplished at least the principal objects of my invention, and it will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments herein described may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that the invention is capable of uses and has advantages not herein specifically described; hence, it will be appreciated that the herein disclosed embodiments are illustrative only, and that my invention is not limited thereto.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a garment of the class described, a body part open at the front and having neck and arm openings, means for closing the front of the body part, a sleeve and shoulder part comprising front sections having their upright edges spaced apart, said sleeve and shoulder part fitting over the upper portion of the body part with its neck opening registering with the neck opening in the body part and being permanently stitched to the body part around the neck of the garment only, whereby the sleeve and shoulder part may move relatively to the body part to permit full freedom of movement of the wearers arms without pulling in any part of the garment, and means whereby the upright edges of the front sections of the sleeve and shoulder part may be detach ably secured to the body part when so desired.

2. In a jacket of the class described, a body part open at the front of the jacket and provided with suitable fastening means for closing the jacket front, said body part having neck and arm openings, a sleeve and shoulder part fitting over the upper portion of the body part and having vertically disposed spaced-apart front edges, said sleeve and shoulder part having its neck opening registering with the neck opening in the body part and being secured to the body part at 6 the neck of the jacket only, a suitable collar secured to said sleeve and body parts around the neck opening in the garment and concealing the marginal edges of the sleeve and body parts defining the neck opening, and means whereby the front upright edges of the sleeve and shoulder part may be detachably secured to the body part when so desired.

3. In a jacket of the class described, a body part open at the front of the jacket and havin zipper means for closing the jacket front, said body part having neck and arm openings therein, a sleeve and shoulder part fitting over the upper portion of the body part with its neck opening registering with the neck opening in the body part, said sleeve and shoulder part being inseparably secured to the body part at the neck of the jacket only, a collar secured to and concealing the marginal edges of the sleeve and body parts defining the neck opening, and the sleeve and shoulder part being open at its front, and each of its upright front edges having means adapted to cooperate with means on the, front wall portions of the body part for detachably securing them thereto.

4. In a garment of the class described, a body part open at the front and having neck and arm openings, means for closing the front of the body part, a sleeve and shoulder part fitting over the upper portion of said body part with its neck opening registering with the neck opening inthe body part, means for securing the sleeve and shoulder part to the body part at the neck of the garment only, whereby the body portion of the sleeve and shoulder part is loosely supported over the body part thereby to permit free movement of the wearer's arms in all directions without restraint from the garment, and also whereby the upper portion of the garment is freely ventilated through the arm openings in the body part, said sleeve and shoulder part including front sections having their upright edges spaced apart, and means whereby said upright edges may be detachably secured to the body part when so desired.

ROY H. KERR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the it file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,740,614' Marquist Dec. 24, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 166,386 Great Britain July 21, 1921 471,958 Great Britain Sept. 14, 1937 

